Meet the Rogue Riverkeeper

Rogue Riverkeeper (RRK) was founded in 2008 as a program of the Klamath Siskiyou Wildlands Center (KS Wild) to provide public oversight of clean water for fish and people living in the Rogue Basin. Rogue Riverkeeper works to safeguard the health of the Rogue River, using fundamental environmental protections such as the Clean Water Act to improve water quality across the basin's 3.3 million acres.

RRK is a member of the Waterkeeper Alliance, which is an international network of advocates who fight for clean water in over 300 waterways worldwide. The guiding principle of Waterkeepers is that without water, there can be no life, and without clean water, there can be no healthy life. We all work for swimmable, drinkable, fishable waters.

The Rogue River is a world-class whitewater stream, with one of the most important fisheries in the Pacific Northwest. It provides critical habitat for wildlife as well, with osprey, bald eagle, black bear, and otter all common along its banks. It is also the lifeblood of several communities, providing water sources, recreation, and a way of life. Protecting the Rogue and ensuring the waters are clean helps ensure a healthy river legacy for future generations.

The headwaters of the Rogue are found at 5,300 ft. as jubilant springs burst from the west side of Crater Lake National Park. The upper Rogue drains off the west side of the Cascades and tumbles through a volcanic legacy before entering a valley plateau where urban development is concentrated. Leaving the valley near Grants Pass, Oregon, the river cuts a deep canyon westward through the remote Siskiyou Mountains before reaching the Pacific Ocean.

The Rogue has been an asset to human communities for millennia. For thousands of years, numerous Native American Tribes lived in the Rogue basin, including the Chastacosta, Chetco, Dakubetede, Latgawa, Takelma, Taltushtuntude, Shasta, and Klamath.

Rogue Riverkeeper’s vision is of a clean, free flowing, healthy river where the Rogue’s scenic beauty, recreational, fish, and wildlife values are protected and restored for future generations. We build broad-based community support that fosters and nurtures community responsibility for good stewardship of our river.

Rogue Riverkeeper fills a critical niche in the Rogue Basin as the watchdog, steward, and voice of the River and watershed.